Police: 4-year-old found on street as mom slept

NATIONAL CITY  A 4-year-old boy was found wandering alone several blocks from home Tuesday night, and it was later discovered that his mother had fallen asleep, National City police said Wednesday.

Police responded about 6:15 p.m. Tuesday to a report of a small boy alone near the intersection of East Plaza Boulevard and Palm Avenue, police Sgt. Jeff Meeks said. A police helicopter was called and the crew made announcements in the area while officers went door to door in the neighborhood. The boy was taken to Polinsky Children’s Center.

About an hour later, the boy’s 37-year-old mother called police and said her son was missing, Meeks said. She said she works a graveyard shift and had fallen asleep about 1:30 p.m. and woke up about 7:15 p.m. Her apartment is on East Ninth Street near Palm Avenue.

A child-endangerment crime report has been forwarded to the District Attorney’s Office for review. The boy was in the care of county Child Protective Services.